/ck/ - Food & Cooking

>>17632385
pricing

>>17632408
That really is the only difference right? So why doesn’t everyone just buy their food from walmart or something where it’s significantly cheaper? Is everyone retarded?

>>17632413
because some people want to go the opposite way and show they shop at an expensive place

>>17632385
of course there's a difference in quality. you're asking a board of poorfags so they will naturally reject this as a cope, also because they don't know what real quality is. like this guy >>17632422

>>17632431
but all meat and produce come from the same exact farms, so why would they differ much in quality?

>>17632431
you're the one coping, whole foods isn't the holy grail of quality produce you're making it out to be

There definitely are people who shop at Whole Foods because they think the price = quality. Places like Walmart however manage to sell items for cheap because 1. They operate at very small profit margins and 2. They buy the cheapest wholesale goods they can get, which ends up with food not being as fresh as what you could potentially get at a fancier market.

Other places like Aldi's will buy food about to spoil from other supermarkets at a discount and sell them at a discount. That being said, the best places to get fresh meats and produce would be from an actual butcher and farmers market rather than any supermarket anyway.

>>17632385
It might come from the same place, but it's the illusion of choice. People who buy stuff from Whole Foods consider themselves superior to those that shop at Wal-Mart, and also believe the food is higher quality and screened with more attention/detail by more competent workers. It's like Wal-Mart is for the degenerates/poor of society and Whole Foods is for the rich/classy people, so people in Whole Foods go shopping there for that reason, and the cleanliness and possibly the types of people they won't encounter.

Wal-Mart is like a circus, you see tons of trash in there, but you probably would see less trash at Whole Foods or more expensive supermarkets.

>>17632385
You cant get certain ingredients at cheap places. I cant go to Aldis and get sea scallops. Ive found different stores are better at different things and its not all about price

>>17632413
>So why doesn’t everyone just buy their food from walmart or something where it’s significantly cheaper?
I don't live near a walmart, so it's kind of like a roadtrip destination to me. I have so many targets though, but Ralph's or Smart/Final have the wider variety of items

>>17632422
The higher prices are a small price to pay so they won't have to look at poor people and minorities.

>>17632691
>and also believe the food is higher quality and screened with more attention/detail by more competent workers
They literally are.
Low income areas have more discount and hispanic supermarkets, they sell imperfect fruits and vegetables that the white people supermarkets refuse to accept, it's not even a quality thing, #2 produce tastes exactly the same, it's just not as photogenic.

>>17632459
Walmart produce is old in my experience, it goes south faster which is a problem I have at my local discount chain. The more expensive places you get broccoli that won't turn yellow for 2 weeks, Walmart you get 4 days

That's the only thing I really notice, I don't think there's a quality difference outside of that

>>17632385
are you kidding?
the produce is very different, and not just in price
I shop at Safeway, Whole Foods, and a local store
Safeway has the worst produce and the local store has the best

>>17632385


>I only buy organic

It comes from the same farm

>B-b-but the price!!!!

>>17632459
How do you expect the same farms to supply every retailer? Different distributors have contracts with different producers and different retailers.

>>17632846
This except for milk, all the milk comes from The Cow

the amount of misinformation in this thread is astounding.
lets start with meat. due to the nature of the industry there are literally 5 or 6 companies that run the entire end point of slaughter, distribution and whole sale. so its literally all the same meat no matter what retailer you go to, EVEN IF IT IS A BUTCHER SHOP! The only way it wouldn't be the same meat is if you literally owned the cow and took it to slaughter and processing at a place you could trust. And from the little I know, there aint many places that do this that you can trust that you'll get the meat from the animal you took in.

Retailers like walmart, aldis, safeway what have you operate on volume, the product doesn't belong to them unless they sell it. Let me make it plainer. I own walmart, all that meat on the display case? if it goes out of date/spoils/gets destroyed? Not my problem, its not mine, its the distributors, he'll take the loss. If I sell it, then he's paid his cut and i keep the profit. It works this way all over the US of A and Europe with any brick and mortar retailer. Butcher shops own all their meat, if it goes bad, its their loss. Now think for a second about the volume a walmart goes through vs the volume a butcher shop goes through. Which do you think will be the freshest? If you think its the butcher shop, you're retarded.

walmart in particular is amazing with logistics, so all their stuff will get to the store pretty fast from warehouse. some people say produce is old, that may be simply because of lack of care on the part of the employees/management because it all comes from the same place. there is no premium on produce. Whole Foods may simply have a better distribution system for their stuff and with higher paid workers they may also have better care of the food on the store than a minimum wage employee at wally world would, it could also be highly dependent on the store and not reflective of the entire chain.

I packaged halibut for Whole Foods and approximately 45 seconds was spent selecting the filets that would go to that line versus stay on the normal one. I made a comment like god imagine what they'll charge for this and the boss went and asked cause he was wondering too, and one package was easily $115 while regular would be something like $40 I'm guessing. This is the same fish from the same boat on the same day in the same factory, with like I said less than a minute spent grabbing a few that look "good". Up to you if that's worth it..

>>17632385
Aldi is good if you're broke and don't mind the occasional food poisoning

>Does it really matter where you buy your groceries?

If you've ever gone shopping for yourself a single time in your life then you should understand that different stores tend to have both different selections and different prices for products. So does it matter? Only if you give a shit about how much you pay for things and what you're able to get there. Also consider that some stores are shitty and run/staffed by retards. I don't want to shop somewhere if it's dirty and the products are consistently damaged or improperly stored.

>>17632916
>points out the amount of misinformation in this thread
>posts misinformation
kys chud

Some get from local farms, some import

>>17632691

Wal-Mart is like a circus, you see tons of trash in there, but you probably would see less trash at Whole Foods or more expensive supermarkets.

This is literally why Publix exists in the South. Are you in the mood to NOT see white trash parents verbally/physically abuse their children while you're just buying stuff to make dinner? Hey let's go to Publix instead of Walmart. At least that how it was in Orlando/Deland when I lived in Florida.

>>17632916
Is this nigga saying that every single cow comes from factory farming, do you think small farm don't exist at all?
>Which do you think will be the freshest? If you think its the butcher shop, you're retarded.
youve never had meat from a butcher have you?

Maybe it's an American thing again

>>17633055
Florida is the walmart of america. All the trashy shit you see at a walmart anywhere you can see in florida just walking down the street, so I imagine florida walmarts are 100x worse than walmarts anywhere else

>>17633055

You go to Publix for a sub, not to pay $6 for frosted flakes

If it's premade or packaged - I get it wherever is cheapest. Probably Costco or Walmart. If it's meat, I get it at Costco or Raleys/Bel Air. If it's vegetables/fruit, Sprouts, Trader Joe's, Raleys/Bel Air, or the farmer's market. Sometimes Costco, but only if it's from a brand I trust implicitly, like Driscoll's.

>>17632385
have you ever actually eaten food?

>>17633165
I visited Florida once to see some family and we stopped in Wal-Mart real quick for something or another and within five minutes I witnessed an angry Hispanic mother instruct her child to piss in the aisle because she didn't want to take him to the restroom

Granted, I go to Wal-Mart less than once per year so maybe that's not out of the ordinary

>>17633165
>>17633761
don't go to the walmart in the ghetto same as any other grocery store.
The walmart in my area is nicer then most Whole foods, the produce is fresh, the floors are waxed and the aisles are clean and faced.
I do most of my shopping there and hit ALDI or publix for anything i can't get or is on sale

>>17632385
I shop at Walmart when I want to fantasize about fucking white trash, Kroger for fucking ugly milfs, Trader Joe's for fatty sjw's, and sprouts for ugly hippy chicks. I wish beutiful women would shop.

>>17632385
on some products the better store get first pick on meat/produce or sometimes walmart has slightly less in a package. But for the most part its the same and you might even get fresher products at walmart because they move inventory a lot faster.

>>17633789
there are some pretty hot mexi chicks at winn dixie

>>17632413
Walmart has shit quality meat

>>17633167
this, i looked at their ad and they wanted $8 for 5lbs bag of gold medal flour (sure its BOGO but they just jacked the price to make it seem like a sale)

>>17632798
It should be noted that this holds true within a grocery chain. Stores of the same chain in different neighbourhoods will get different priority for produce shipments depending on how rich the neighbourhood is.

>>17633789
Safeway and Giant, bro

- Store brands including specialists like in-house cheesemongers or sushi
- What you get for selling your info (e.g. the discount cards)
- Organic availability
- "Ethnic" selection
- Produce freshness
- Pricing of various meats and seafood
- What's available prepared / prepackaged
- Brand selection in general, even if it isn't a store brand it still might be store-exclusive
- How long it takes you to get what you need (your store uses a strategic layout designed to keep you there longer)
- Who shops there
- How clean it is
- What nongrocery products are available
- Travel cost in both time and money

>>17632385
Well for one thing, different stores will carry different brands and different levels of variety. I cant find all the spices I like or all the imported fruits I want just at Walmart.

For another thing, different stores will have different standards. I have noticed Walmart is much more likely to have food significantly past its best-by date still on the shelves. Assumably they dont have enough employees or the employees just dont care enough to properly rotate product.

And then theres atmosphere and aesthetic. Walmart is absolute soul poison. Your eyes and mind are assaulted by bright white lights and obnoxious earworm music constantly.

I didnt even write this post to shit on Walmart, they just happened to be a perfect negative example for everything.

Am I the only one who likes Walmart? I live in one of the most expensive areas though so it might be different

>>17632413
I'd rather pay more to not deal with niggers, illegals, and trailer trash hicks.

>>17633061
He' saying that only a handful of corporations supply products to all of the grocery stores. Walmart, Kroger, Publix, Aldi, etc, isn't getting meat and produce from small or local farms. A small or local farm couldn't even handle the volume of a single week of just one walmart.

>>17632682
Agreed, thougj i think there is nore pronounced differemce in quality between a butcher amd a grocery store.

All my red meat comes from a butcher as the quality is notocably better.

Plus sometimes they are yryong out stuff and get you samples. My butcher gave me some on house smoked pork belly candy last week...very tasty.

>>17632385
>Why does it matter if you buy your food from a Walmart rather than, say, Whole Foods or Ralph’s? They’re all the same shit no?
You've literally never shopped for meat or produce in your entire life.

>>17632916
Picture a square divided in horizontal quarters. This is my local butcher.

The first quarter is the retail area. The last quartet is their freezer. The middle half is a giant space with multiple processing station whwre I have seen them process game people brought in amd the carcases of pigs and cows.

>>17632916
I buy meat from the rancher at my farmers market anon.

>>17633785
This is a nice cheese place, damn

>go to cheap store
>they don't have what I need
>go to faggy organic expensive store
>they have everything I could ever imagine needing

Still go to Walmart when I'm buying chips/beer but if I'm making a recipe, I'll usually go to Whole Foods or Central Market.

>>17634599
ever Publix, Ingles and a fair amount of Winn Dixies have a decent cheese section

>>17634109
This. Target is always full of cuties for some reason

>>17634695
<span class="xae" data-xae="eyes">&#x1F440;[/spoiler]
but they're way overpriced

>>17634695
is that a fucking emoji

>>17634596
think for a fucking second will ya?
do you think an actual rancher who raises cattle would have the time to sell his meat at a farmers market?
even if he did, he would only have so many cuts because he's not stocking meat from anywhere else.
>>17634149
thats nice anon, but that is one butcher shop that is insignificant in market share and even then he wouldn't be stocked full of meat if he's only using the animals that are brought to him

>>17633061
>do you think small farm don't exist at all?
small farms is where all the cattle comes from to begin with. there are very few big ranchers. they sell their cows to a feed lot who then sells it to a processing plant.
there are no small farms doing all the steps from raising the baby cow to slaughter and processing and if by chance they exist, you sure as hell can't buy it just anywhere because that would be illegal.

>>17635472
<img class="xae" data-xae width="32" height="26" src="https://s.4cdn.org/image/emotes/7b4acfbf_trollface.png">

>>17632385
Foods such as fruit and vegetables are usually graded according to quality and you generally get what you pay for, the more expensive shops usually have higher quality. They certainly demand it from the suppliers anyway. For processed stuff, no, there is no difference between a jar of uncle bens sauce in walmart or whole foods except for price, though there will be a difference between store brands.

>>17632620
No but my local co op is. And whole foods is definitely superior in terms of produce than pretty much anywhere else around. I tried stop n shop once to save money and it was depressing and eye opening and made me grateful I could afford better.

A sincere reminder that a sizeable proportion of this board is some.combination of 1) genuinely poor 2) unashamed of consuming fastfood 3) has never touched a woman or struggles terribly with ladies 4) couldn't cook something simple like a fried egg to save their life.

>>17635571
Dont forget the flaming faggots that think cooking food is some incredible skill and requires childish faggotry and retarded pageantry. You faggot.

>>17632916
the three butcher shops in my area specifically source from local farms, it's like their whole angle

>>17635586
You're right, my mistake. A crucial omission.

>>17635472
<span class="xae" data-xae="xd">&#x1F606;[/spoiler]

>>17632620
whole foods is absolutely fucking better than walmart, and typically better than kroger/safeway/albertsons. and while they do sometimes source from the same locations for some things, they always have local produce and meat, they have way higher quality control, they have way better selection, and walmart and the weird fat fucks who go there are absent. I will always shop whole foods because I am an upper middle class white person and I'll make no apologies. walmartians begone.

>>17635646
> I will always shop whole foods because I am an upper middle class white person
>t. i'm a nigger rich retard that thinks paying more for the same things makes me look impressive to my brokeass friends
The rich didn't get rich by wasting their money <img class="xae" data-xae width="32" height="32" src="https://s.4cdn.org/image/emotes/8b7cc3e0_WTFF.png">

>>17632413
Also distance. And of course that some products aren't available in all stores, at least over here. But for basic ingredients it's just distance and price.

>>17632413
>Is everyone retarded?
yes! well that and not having to deal with walmart shoppers but if you just go in the morning it's not bad at all.
The night shift resets the store at 7am so everything is freshly stocked and cleaned and non of the mutant people are out that early, quite pleasant actually <img class="xae" data-xae width="32" height="32" src="https://s.4cdn.org/image/emotes/d3c674ba_monkaHmm.png">

>>17635920
This is true for all grocery stories, ain't it? The only problem is at 7 it's all seniors shuffling down aisles at half a meter per hour.

>>17632916
Yes.
When I raise 5 cows, I sell one to Walmart, one to Whole Foods, one to Aldi, and one to a high end butcher.
>inb4 that’s only 4
How about you don’t fucking worry about the 5th cow you fucking dumbass you’re spouting retarded shit anyway.

>>17632385
They can be very different.
Local markets near me almost always have significantly more ripe fruits like tomatoes or apples than Walmart does.
And meat is typically far higher quality and better trimmed and cut.

>>17632916
You think they're all ordering the same quality meats?
Meat processing companies ship out different qualities of meat to different retailers based on what they order. This is why you go to a butcher to get high quality roasts and steaks, because they pay for better meat as its their business.
<img class="xae" data-xae width="32" height="28" src="https://s.4cdn.org/image/emotes/ba70c4d9_REEEEE.png">
Dumbass

>>17635553


This person gets it. The produce is graded at the farm and shipped off to different buyers who demand different things. Next time you look at berries, see what Class/Grade on the label. The shittiest of fruits gets sent to juicing/ secondary processing like making lemon peels and stuff. The best quality everything gets exported, generally to rich asian markets who will pay $8 for a punnet of strawberries or $80 for a kg of steak.

>>17632385
depends on what kind of veggies you like
plastic vs farmer market veggies

>>17632385
>Buy ground beef at HEB
>The beef came from Texas and was ground in-store
>Buy ground beef at Walmart
>Several possible source countries listed on package
>$1 difference
Even if the produce all came from the same place (it doesn't) it's been picked over and beat to shit by Walmart people.

>>17632385
You're retarded.
All packaged items do NOT come from the same factories. All meat and produce does NOT come from the same farms. Different factories and farms operate differently.

>>17633789
>I wish beutiful women would shop.
Just go to whole foods. Idk what it is about that place but it is a babe magnet, every time I go there I aways see at least a few smoke shows. Hell even some of the employees are fine as hell

>>17634071
Everyone knows Target is the superior choice

>>17635662
But they’re not paying for the same thing. The quality is noticeably different, especially when it comes to meat.

how the food is handled during processing and shipping is a lot more important than the direct farm it was grown/raised on

>>17632916
>lets start with meat. due to the nature of the industry there are literally 5 or 6 companies that run the entire end point of slaughter, distribution and whole sale. so its literally all the same meat no matter what retailer you go to,
How fucking stupid can you be? You think the quality of meat sold from a single company is the same all across the board? That a fuck huge corporation sells a single product? That a fuck huge corporation wouldn't have a range of products and quality each aimed at a different demographic?

>>17632916
The meat you get from Walmart is owned by Walmart as they buy it by volume. Any meat that goes bad is put into there "Bone Barrels" tm and resold to dog food manufacturers or some shit. Also almost all the meat they get in is frozen or partially frozen and must be thawed before being put onto the shelf. All the fish is frozen.

>T. Former Walmart meat man

>>17632691
Whole foods is for the rich degenerates who think they have class.

>>17632960
That is really interesting. Thanks got any more stories?

>>17637158
Whole Foods used to be good, but the quality went downhill and the price went uphill for a long time, and recently it was bought out by Amazog, tanking any possibility of it ever being good again.
<img class="xae" data-xae width="32" height="32" src="https://s.4cdn.org/image/emotes/41a37aa0_ReimuPalm.png">

The reason you shop at whole foods is to buy goods you can't find at walmart or wegmans. The reason you shop at wegmans is because it's great.

>>17632708
this

>>17637139
>Also almost all the meat they get in is frozen or partially frozen
i don't remember the trucks or the meat freezer being nearly cold enough to reach "meat frozen" temps

>>17637580
He didn’t say they kept it frozen he says they get it frozen. It would take a long time for a truck load of meat with just barely any refrigeration to thaw out

>>17632708
This 100 times over.

>>17632837
for produce and veggies i dont really notice much of a difference, but organic fruits are distinctly better. especially berries. I eat blueberries every day cannot go back to conventional after getting some organics when the cheaper stuff was sold out.

>>17637701
cold chain procedure says otherwise <span class="xae" data-xae="yikes">😒[/spoiler]
idk maybe things have changed since i work there

>>17637898
>cold chain procedure
Yeah, like that shit was followed. I remember being told to wait on putting out more ground beef cause it had to thaw still. Maybe it was just at the one I worked at. We used to get some vegetables with ice on them to.

I mostly shop based on price. You've gotta know which ingredients are worth spending more on and which aren't. There's no fucking reason to buy expensive salt for instance. It is worth knowing some things like which stores have tend to have better vegetables.

>>17633061
>youve never had meat from a butcher have you?
A lot of butchers buy their meat from the same places as the grocery stores. They do sometimes cut it up themselves, but that's not always the case.

>>17637922
Walmarts are more regionally based then most people even employees realize, there things sold in the south that just can't be found anywhere else in the country. Our store also sold local products like honey and produce

>>17636756
>what is placebo
also good quality products arent expensive allyou have to do is not be sub 80IQ wigger
I can bet you also think desani is some premium quality H2O

>>17634109
Found the retard.